Looking at possibly buying a second hand 4wd through a lease company that I believe supplies vehicles to mining companies. Anybody have any thoughts on these vehicle and any telltale signs to look for? They seem to be at the right price and Km's for the year. 2007/2008 model Mitsubishi Triton and 2005 model Toyota Hilux. I have heard to stay away from ex mine vehicles but have not been given any reason for this.

My family is in the mining industry and I have seen alot of mine vehicles
parked in my familes driveway at some point or another,most of them have
been well looked after,BUT alot of them have been flogged to an inch of
their lives.If the vehicle has been used underground or on a salt mine then
DON'T touch it with a 10ft barge pole.
Tell tale signs-red dust in the A/C vents,Rust,look on the roof for holes(amber beacon etc),
ask about the history of the vehicle,has it got books?have a RAC check done on it,has it got
ERP's fitted?(electronic rust prevention),check the body work for obvious signs of past "reflective sticker work".
Look,I know quite a few people who have bought vehicles that have belonged to mine companies and they
hav'nt had a problem,you just have to go through the car with a fine tooth comb.

Im in 2 minds when it comes to ex mines vehicles. Sure they are cheep and they pretty much look after them fairly well but on the other hand around here they have all come off coal mines and that stuff is really corrosive. I was looking at a 2008 V8 cruiser ute and the chassis has worse rust and pitting than my old 1978 HJ45 that was parked under a tree for quite a few years. If you just want a fun to thrash, don't hold back, If you want to go to the cape via the kimberly starting in tasmania, maybe look for something else.

D1cko wrote:Im in 2 minds when it comes to ex mines vehicles. Sure they are cheep and they pretty much look after them fairly well but on the other hand around here they have all come off coal mines and that stuff is really corrosive.

That is where we are lucky here in the south west of WA,almost (if not all) the mines
around here are either bauxite or mineral sands.So not too much to make vehicles rust.
They are all fitted with ERP's anyway,just to be on the safe side.

id steer well clear . i work for a garage in the SW anad we get alot of mine vehicles in ....... some of em have been that deep in the mud that you can see any of the underside when you put it on the ramp .. anad they have all been flogged to death .. at your own peril mate !!

When I was younger I worked for a car dealer in the Hunter and we would go to the mines and collect cars to do repairs. Driving them was a nightmare, at anything close to highway speed they would shake and vibrate something fierce. I guess that was a positive though as 90% of the mud that had been baked on would shake itself off on the drive...

I wouldn't touch one, but it all depends on the sort of mining it was involved with!

Thanks for all the comments guys, am looking at a Triton probally so I dont think they are used for any of the real full on stuff in the mines so should be relatively safe. But I will have a really good look over and under whatever I have a serious mind to buy. Will also get a RACV check done and have a few mates that have been 4WD all their lives to have a good look as well. I am going to use it as a build up as a tourer. Most of the ones I have looked at so far have no marks where lights would have been fitted and any signs of stickers, but they have been fairly well detailed. May have been normal hire vehicles, which I know may have problems of their own. ha ha

Thanks again, I will keep looking with all the info I have been given in mind, still have 3 months until I have to buy and will have about $25,000 to spend. But also have to take into consideration that it will be my everyday driver with about 1000km a week on the highway.

strike wrote:Thanks for all the comments guys, am looking at a Triton probally so I dont think they are used for any of the real full on stuff in the mines so should be relatively safe. But I will have a really good look over and under whatever I have a serious mind to buy. Will also get a RACV check done and have a few mates that have been 4WD all their lives to have a good look as well. I am going to use it as a build up as a tourer. Most of the ones I have looked at so far have no marks where lights would have been fitted and any signs of stickers, but they have been fairly well detailed. May have been normal hire vehicles, which I know may have problems of their own. ha ha

Thanks again, I will keep looking with all the info I have been given in mind, still have 3 months until I have to buy and will have about $25,000 to spend. But also have to take into consideration that it will be my everyday driver with about 1000km a week on the highway.

A lot of good advice on here mate - and an almost equal amount of ill-informed rubbish.

As some have said - check out the vehicle that you are interested in, thoroughly, and look for signs of abuse or particularly corrosion. General rule of thumb - if it has been used underground, leave it alone. But that will be pretty obvious anyway, as anything that has done any work at all underground usually ends up looking pretty rough very quickly.

But there are plenty of very good, even excellent condition vehicles that come off mine sites, particularly if they have been on a lease. I have driven / been responsible for quite a few and would be happy to buy any one of them at the right price. The lease companies usually change them out at around 120,000km, so they are hardly worn in. Those who say "don't buy ex mining vehicles at any cost" really don't have any idea of what they're talking about. Yes - there are some bad examples out there, but also plenty of very good ones. No different to anywhere else in the second-hand market really. It's just up to you to know what you're looking for / at ,and to get someone with more experience to have a look for you if you're not sure.

strike wrote:Thanks for all the comments guys, am looking at a Triton probally so I dont think they are used for any of the real full on stuff in the mines so should be relatively safe. But I will have a really good look over and under whatever I have a serious mind to buy. Will also get a RACV check done and have a few mates that have been 4WD all their lives to have a good look as well. I am going to use it as a build up as a tourer. Most of the ones I have looked at so far have no marks where lights would have been fitted and any signs of stickers, but they have been fairly well detailed. May have been normal hire vehicles, which I know may have problems of their own. ha ha

Thanks again, I will keep looking with all the info I have been given in mind, still have 3 months until I have to buy and will have about $25,000 to spend. But also have to take into consideration that it will be my everyday driver with about 1000km a week on the highway.

A lot of good advice on here mate - and an almost equal amount of ill-informed rubbish.

As some have said - check out the vehicle that you are interested in, thoroughly, and look for signs of abuse or particularly corrosion. General rule of thumb - if it has been used underground, leave it alone. But that will be pretty obvious anyway, as anything that has done any work at all underground usually ends up looking pretty rough very quickly.

But there are plenty of very good, even excellent condition vehicles that come off mine sites, particularly if they have been on a lease. I have driven / been responsible for quite a few and would be happy to buy any one of them at the right price. The lease companies usually change them out at around 120,000km, so they are hardly worn in. Those who say "don't buy ex mining vehicles at any cost" really don't have any idea of what they're talking about. Yes - there are some bad examples out there, but also plenty of very good ones. No different to anywhere else in the second-hand market really. It's just up to you to know what you're looking for / at ,and to get someone with more experience to have a look for you if you're not sure.

Thanks BMKal Thats exactly the info I am after, I work for a power utilities company and even though it does not compare to the mine conditions, we have vehicles that are constantly running with a full load (also top heavy with ladder racks etc) and driven by some guys who dont give a stuff and drive them like they stole them. However these vehicles are well serviced and I would definately consider buying one of these if the oppurtunity arose.